PEARLS FROM PARLIAMENT

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 159, 18 July 1903, Page 7

PEARLS FROM PARLIAMENT

Ministerial life is nothing to me. I ould leave it to morrow without 1 egret.— Ir. Hall-Jones. * * * In the case of our msaue we simply put patients into asylums, and quietly go our way ami forget all about them.— Mr. T. E. Taylor. If we are to go on squabbling, bickering, and cavilling about this, that, and the other, we shall never arrive at any definite and satisfactory result.— Mr. Kaihau. * * * The people who are clamouring for the freehold are those people who are going about saying to the freeholders, " Put me into Parliament and I will get you the freehold."— Mr. Lanrenson. * * * I, as a New Zealander, wish to see New Zealand the maritime nation of the Pacific, and I do not want to see anything done by legislation or otherwise that would prevent us gaining that high position.— Mr. J. Allen. * * * No Maori chief in charge of a war-party would, when going into action, give any section of his men into the charge of men he did not know. And, this being so, in my opinion it is only right that the Premier should have the selection of the gentlemen who are to fill the position of Ministers of the Crown. — Mr. Kaihau. * « * I understand that the Opposition are in some difficulty about the choice of a leader. I believe there have been three gentlemen in the running, but one of these gentlemen last night put himself out of the running. I wish to make an offer to honourable members opposite, and that is, if they are unable to agree as to who is to lead them I am prepared to act as an arbitrator. Mr. Hall-Jones. Mr. Lewis. — We are much obliged. * * * Some time ago a certain contingent in Africa — I am not going to say whether it was an Australian or a New Zealand contingent — had been engaged for a long time in patrolling the veldt and burning farms and destroying furniture, and in many cases had destroyed the pianos. This contingent left Africa for the colonies, and a pianoforte was placed for their benefit on the steamer, and within three days of their leaving the Cape they had destroyed the piano. They could not overcome their tendency to destroy, having been engaged for so long in destroying things on the veldt. — Mr. Laurenson. * # * The other day I noticed in a newspaper that St. lago, the patron Saint of Spain, prayed that, as Spam possessed the finest climate, the fairest women, and the bravest men, it should also be accorded the most perfect form of government. The question was considered and the application refused, upon the ground that if Spain was given the most perfect form of government the angels might leave heaven. Now, since coining into this House I have watched with care the conduct of members, and I have paid careful attention to discussions in the House. Up to the present I have not noticed any influx of angels.— Mi. Herdman. * * * It is wondeiful how many people took credit for being instrumental in getting this duty abolished on fencing-wire. It reminds me of the story told in "Three Men in a Boat." I daie pay most honourable membeis remember how the three went to a river-side pubhchouse to put up for the night, Above the door of the sitting-ioom was a stuffed tiout in a glass case. When the landlord came m to poke the fire and make them comfortable, he began to tell them how he had caught that trout, and what a fight he had to kill it, what a whopper it was, et cetera. After he left, a man who frequented the hotel and spent his evenings there, came in, and you will remember he told them bow he caught the trout, and so on. After this, either George or Harris got on a chair to examine the trout, and by some means the case fell, and the stuffed trout broke into pieces. It was made of plaster-of Paris.— Mr. Kirkbnde, " the farmers' man."

My own private feeling is that we have so many different directions nowadays in which people endeavour to discover means of making money without entenng into legitimate business that I believe that is the cause of the great increase m the number of insane. — Mr. Parata. * * - I know the honourable gentleman who leads the Government has his weak points, and his imperfections, as I suppose we all have ; but I will prophesy this of him, that his name will be remembered m reverence in New Zealand when those of hundreds and thousands of his detractors are buried in oblivion. — Mr. Laurenson. * * * Whenever a member of this House rises to move, " That a respectful Address be presented to His E\cellency," and so forth, certain lines from a child's book always float before me :—: — " The time has come," the Wah us said, " to talk of many things, Of shoes and ships, and sealing-wax, of cabbages and kings, And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings." — Mr. Lewis.

The member for Wairarapa told them that they ought to stick to their last — the city men. Then, why did the honourable member come dabbling in city finance ? Why did he not stick to his sheep-farm ? —Mr. T. E. Taylor. * * * When the honourable member lor Lyttelton sets out to make his voice ring throughout the length and breadth of this country, he will find the Premier can make his voice ring, and very often with considerable effect ; indeed, if it comes to making their voices ring, I am putting my money on the Premier every time. — Mr. Lewis. # ■* * So far as our bootmakers are concerned, I think if my honourable friend inquires into it he will find they are themselves largely to blame for a lot of these importations. When the people here brought in the finest machinery that could be obtained for the turning-out of boots and shoes, a curb was put on the use of machinery, and the manufacturers found that after all they were not allowed to use their machinery so as to compete with the American importations. — Hon. J. Eigg.

It seems to me that before we can arrive at any very definite conclusion on this matter we will have to ascertain whether the Englishman is prepared to accord preferential treatment by giving us a quid pro quo, whether the inhabitant o£ the British Isles is prepared to tax himself, as the preference tariff would imply, in order to give favoured treatment to his colonial brothers. — Mr. McNab. * * * It is not exaggerated language to say a number of those men in the Upper House are political cripples, and a few of the men recently appointed are too ; and we have quite sufficient men in that Chamber at the present tune who are hobbling on Seddoman crutches. — " The beardless boy " (Mr. Bedford) criticises the patriarchs in his first speech. t! * * "What power have we '? There are eighty members in this House, and we are practically impotent as a political power; all power is in the Executive. We cannot appoint a single member of the Executive of this country — not a member. We aie allowed to come and criticise and cavil and debate, but that is almost the limit of our power as representatives. — Mr. T. E. Taylor. > * * I saw on the wharf at Southampton, Biitishers kissing the hands of the Boer generals, and naturally I took exception to that, and said it was un-Bntish — give them a generous welcome, but not this sort of thing. At the same time a colonel of the Manchester corps arrived with his troops, and no notice was given of this to the people of Manchester; they were allowed to land from the steamer, and were taken up at midnight, and, I was informed, in trucks. — The Prime Minister.

The Premier's denial has been proved to be absolutely correct. — Mr. O'Meara. Mr. Buchanan. — I was there, and heard the Premier's speech. Mr. O'Meara. — I understand that the honourable gentleman is a little bit deaf on one side occasionally. — About the Papawai speech. * * * The Hon. the Premier is dominated by an overwhelming love of the Mother Country — a love that has been expressed in such terms that it has created surprise in England itself— and we have to see that, carried away by these sentiments towards the Motherland, he does not overlook the interests of this colony, and do it an injustice.— The Hon. John Rigg. * # ¥■ Although having taken part for a great many years in politics, I have at this moment the usual nervousness and stagefright, as you might call lt.jthat is generally present on such occasions ; but I will try to get through and " cough it up," as the Yankee says, as quickly as I possibly can. — Auckland's new " Lord " (Hon. J. Beehan) makes his debut. * * * Perhaps all honourable members do not know that Mr. Rutherford is particularly fond of children; but he is. I can very well recall a visit I paid to the Cheviot show in Company with the Hon. Mr. Hall-Jones and the honourable member for Manawatu, and it was amusing to any one less fond of children than our honourable friend to see him surrounded by twenty or thirty ladies, all of them holding up their respective babies to the admiration of the honourable member. Sir, I venture to say that there is no finer masculine nurse than the honourable member for Hurunui. — Mr. Davy.

Now, with respect to the honourable member for Wellington City (Mr. Duthie), there is no doubt that he is really the only courtier in the House, and it is a great pity he was not knighted when he went Home, so that he might appear here in silk stockings and knee breeches. His speeches would then be adorned as no doubt they deserve to be. — Mr. O'Meara.